Most UAE residents in debt face 'threatening' calls from police

The vast majority of UAE residents in debt claim to have had threatening calls from the police and banks over their loans, according to a new survey by Arabian Business.

The UAE debt survey 2011 reveals that 80% of residents with debts have had “threatening calls”. The same survey shows that just 9% of residents believe their banks have been helpful in trying to restructure personal debts.

Despite this, the majority – 82% - are confident of clearing their debts before leaving the country. But of those who do not believe they can, 40% plan to skip the country.

The survey also shows that more than a quarter of UAE residents have debts of more than $68,119 (AED250,000) – and than more than 20% of residents have no idea how much debt they are in.

The survey also shows that nearly 40% of residents have personal loans of between $27,247 (AED100,000) and $54495 (AED200,000).

But the scale of UAE debt isn’t just concentrated on personal loans. The results show that 12% of residents in the country own more than six credit cards, with 15% of those still having outstanding balances of more than $27,247. The picture is even worse on car loans, where nearly a quarter of all UAE residents owe more than $27,247.

Last year a report by the Lafferty Group said total consumer debt across the GCC was $139 billion, with the UAE having one of the highest take ups of credit cards anywhere on the planet, with 199.4 cards per 100 people.

*Arabian Business questioned 342 UAE residents for the debt survey.

Click on the links below to see results of the Arabian Business debt survey: